


Saving Zevran

by The_Tevinter_Biscuit



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, In the Fade, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Tevinter_Biscuit/pseuds/The_Tevinter_Biscuit
Summary: Ariel leaves Fenris a letter informing him that she's found the whereabouts of Zevran.
Relationships: Fenris/Original Female Character(s), Zevran Arainai/Fenris/Original Female Character(s), Zevran Arainai/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	Saving Zevran

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maiden_of_Wolves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiden_of_Wolves/gifts).



> A commission for Maiden once again <3  
> Thank you!

Fenris’s casual walk around Skyhold had quickly turned into a brisk stroll. It had been a simple matter, he just wished to see Ariel, but she was nowhere to be found around the entirety of Skyhold. He had made at least two circles around the whole place by now and she was still missing. This led to him getting many stares from the people around him.

But he wasn’t about to ask for help, not until he checked her room. In hindsight, it should have been one of the first places he looked, but he had knocked earlier and got no answer. It was rude to just walk in unannounced and Fenris liked to think that he had more manners than that. He shifted from foot to foot, eyebrows furrowed, as he stood outside her door.

_Just walk in_ , Fenris, _just walk in_.

He took a deep breath and reached for the door handle to swing the door open. Silence. Fenris stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He looked around, looking for any sign of movement in the room. It was unusually messy, things had been strewn across the room, papers scattered all over her desk. Someone had left in a hurry.

That didn’t make Fenris feel any better. What had caused Ariel to leave in such a rush? He didn’t want to assume the worst but there was a pounding in his heart that made him fear that something terrible had happened to her. Could it have anything to do with him? Did he do something that would make her run from him? Countless possibilities ran through Fenris’s mind. This was all far too suspicious.

Regardless, he stepped further inside the room to get a closer look at everything that was going on. He made his way over to the desk and found scraps of what looked like a journal. It was a total invasion of privacy to be reading these but he rationalised to himself that it was for her safety. Dare say he _cared_ about her and he wanted her to be safe. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her and he hadn’t been there to do something about it.

The journal scraps were full of a lot of ramblings about this and that. Fenris was having some trouble deciphering them, as her handwriting was rough in normal circumstances nevermind being hurried. However, one thing in particular did stand out to him: the mention of the Eluvians. Of course, everyone at Skyhold knew plenty about the use of the Eluvian and how to access them. They were guarded for obvious reasons but they weren’t a mystery. He’d heard Ariel talk about them before but he’d thought nothing of it until now.

It was as he shuffled through the papers that Fenris found an envelope. It had been pushed to one side in all the scuffling. He picked it up when he noticed his name clearly written on the front. Fenris’s heart hammered in his chest. Ariel had written him a letter of some description. It had to be serious.

Fenris was happy to say that he was familiar with the cipher that Ariel used. He’d had to teach her some common, it was the least he could do for her to learn her cipher. It was also always nice to flex his newfound ability to read it.

He scrambled to open up the envelope and take out the letter inside.

_Fenris,_

_By the time you read this, I’ve already left Skyhold. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner but I’ve found a way to locate Zevran. He’s definitely alive, I’m sure of it and I just_ ** _know_** _I can bring him back. And I knew you would try and stop me if I told you face to face._

_That’s why it has to be like this._

_You would tell me it’s a fool’s errand, searching the Fade. Too dangerous, too expansive… but…I_ ** _know_** _he’s alive, Fenris. It’s my fault things ended up this way in the first place so it’s my job to_ ** _fix_** _this now that I’ve found a way. I have to go find him and bring him back. Ah, but you know all this. I just… felt like I had to put it into writing too. That it was wrong to leave without at least explaining._

_I won’t say don’t come after me, because you’ll do whatever you think is best, but… please be careful if you do. I don’t want to just exchange one person I care for another._

_ I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me. _

_Ariel_

Fenris stared at the letter for a while, letting the words sink in. Of course, he knew who she was talking about. He was associated with the Hero of Ferelden and an elf. He’d met him briefly even with Hawke, though it had been far from a good or strong impression. Plus, Ariel had mentioned him before. He knew how much he meant to her and that left a bad taste in his mouth even now as he recalled it. Fenris dare not say he was _jealous_ but… to know the man was alive and Ariel had dropped everything to go chasing after him bordered on painful.

At the very least, he had to put that jealousy aside and make sure she was safe. It was just like her to go running into danger the second she thought it was the right thing to do. He wished that he hadn’t been so stupid as to let her think he would try and talk her out of it. Well, he would have, but at the very least he might have been convinced to go with her if she was so insistent.

He tucked the letter back in the envelope and then put it in his pouch. After so many mentions of the Eluvian in her journal notes, it seemed clear where she had gone. He had to go after her. He had to make sure she was okay. There was no stopping him now.

Fenris beelined out of her room, shutting the door behind him, and went to retrieve his armour and his great-sword. Once he was all armed up, he made his way to the place where they kept the Eluvian in Skyhold. He stormed past the guards without a second thought, ignoring their protests about the dangers, and walked through.

It felt like hours before Fenris got where he needed to be. However, that likely had something to do with his racing heart and the sweat slipping across his palms. With each passing second, he worried that he wouldn’t find Ariel, that she was gone forever into the endlessness that the Fade seemed to be. What would he even do if that was the case? He didn’t want to even humour the thought of it. He was sick of losing people, sick of being betrayed. Not that he would blame Ariel, of course. But in times like these, Fenris couldn’t help finding himself cursing at her kindness. Most people truly did not deserve her and Fenris was starting to wonder if he did either.

Everything about the Fade set him on edge. The raw magical energy still tickled at his lyrium markings all these years later and itched. Luckily, he’d built up some resistance to it, enough to not end up clawing his skin off at least. But ideally, he wouldn’t have to be here too long. He just needed to find Ariel and take her back to Skyhold safe and sound. Simple, right?

Fenris sighed and kept trudging on, looking for any sign of the missing woman. She had to be around here somewhere. However, the longer it took for him to get anywhere, the more panicked Fenris felt. The stress was building and there was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. The nausea twisted and turned.

Where was she?

“I cannot _believe_ you!”

Fenris would recognise that voice anywhere, though the tone and intensity was much rarer.

He beelined for the source of the commotion and came into contact with a familiar face. Ariel had tears in her eyes and she blinked them back, only to get them caught in her long eyelashes. Her fist shook by her side, her nails digging into her palm and leaving behind little crescent shaped marks as her other hand made several wide, frantic gestures whenever she spoke. Fenris wasn’t sure that he’d ever seen her so furious. She seemed to be swimming in fury and upset.

His running pace became a slow walk. He decided to keep quiet for now, unwilling to interrupt the scene that was going on before him. Over Ariel’s shoulder, he could see another man. He had a tan complexion, a little darker than his own, and long blonde hair that was half tied into a braid behind his head, the visual registering hazy, brief memories. Fenris couldn’t help but sneer at the smile on this man’s face as he looked up to the crying Ariel before him. He seemed to pay no mind to the fact that she was in tears over him, or at least that’s what it looked like to Fenris. Of course, there was no missing the bruises littered over the side of his face and the exposed bits of skin that Fenris could see from where he stood.

Zevran.

Fenris had mixed feelings about this whole situation. A part of him desperately wanted to intervene. He’d have no qualms with hitting the man on the floor even despite his injuries if he had purposefully made Ariel cry, especially considering that he was looking so smug about it. Despite that, he had a feeling that Ariel would definitely not want him to do such a reckless thing. Especially not to someone she’d spoken of so fondly before. Fenris liked to think that he had changed, that he wasn’t the sort of person who resorted straight to violence like he used to. It seemed like those old habits were more stubborn than he thought.

For now, he stood and listened. Ariel hadn’t noticed him yet, perhaps too consumed by her intense anger to pay attention to anything else that was going on around her. She took a shaky breath, her shoulders tense.

“Y-You knew how that would _rip_ me apart! _You_ were the one who comforted me through losing Taevel! And you just…! You just do this shit anyway! It was supposed to just be me! You **knew** that! And you still threw yourself…!” she yelled, her voice cracking with the budding tears. She let out a choked sob and turned her head away from Zevran, her whole body beginning to tremble.

That seemed to completely wipe the smile off Zevran’s face. His eyes grew wide with shock, his shoulders dropping as he clung desperately to the wound on his arm. It was only then that Fenris noticed that a little bit of blood was beginning to seep through the gaps between his fingers and soak his gloves. Perhaps he was more wounded than he first thought.

“Ariel…” Zevran said softly, his eyebrows furrowing into concern. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, though he wobbled a little.

Ariel shook her head.

“No - I don’t want to hear it, Zev! I just can’t believe you would do this, that you would just…!” she cut him off and then her own words collapsed on her tongue. With the way her mouth opened just slightly and closed several times it was clear there were other things that she wanted to say but either she couldn’t voice them or actually still held back some of her emotions. She rubbed aggressively at the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. Fenris wasn’t sure that he’d ever seen her in such a state before. Angry? Certainly. But this… he wasn’t even sure what to call her emotional outpouring right then.

Ariel let out a sniffle when she had wiped up all the tears. She dared to turn her head back to look at Zevran, even though it made her expression fall.

“You have _no_ idea how badly I want to hit you right now but I don’t know how injured you are,” she grumbled. “You’re lucky I wouldn’t forgive myself if I got to you only to hurt you worse.” She let out a tired huff.

Zevran let go of his bleeding arm to reach out and touch both of Ariel’s arms gently, careful not to smear blood on her. He looked down at the ground under them and then back up at Ariel.

“You know I’m not good at apologies,” he said. “But I still hope you’ll forgive me.”

Ariel let out a strained laugh, she choked on it a little but she buried her head against his chest when he pulled her into a hug anyway. Fenris swallowed roughly, unsure whether he should be watching this moment. As if the swimming jealousy had been bad enough before…

“You big stupid idiot…” Ariel sobbed against him. “ **Never** do this to me again. I’m not some cat that has eight lives to give up chasing you down in dangerous as fuck places.”

Zevran didn’t reply, just made a soft humming noise. He stroked her hair with his non-bloody hand and then met Fenris’s eyes over her shoulder.

“Maybe you should say hello to our visitor,” he said.

Ariel blinked owlishly up at Zevran and then turned quickly on her heels to see Fenris. Suddenly, Fenris felt like a cat caught in the cream. He hadn’t meant to be so… awkward and invasive to this situation. But how could he have interrupted?

“Fenris?” she asked, tone far kinder than it had been only a minute earlier. Her face was lightly flushed, and he wasn’t completely sure it was just from the crying.

“I… came to see if you were okay,” he said.

Oh Maker, why was this so awkward?

“I didn’t expect you to be able to find me… How did you even navigate…?” she asked. After pausing to rub at her eyes and shaking her head again, she simply pushed past her questions. “Oh, Maker, I’m too tired for this.”

Fenris pursed his lips. He didn’t know what to do with all these feelings inside him. What did this mean for his relationship with Ariel now that Zevran was back in her life? Would she toss him aside? He couldn’t just _ask_ something like that, not right now, not when she was this emotional.

_Remember everything you’ve learnt about building relationships, Fenris,_ he thought to himself.

“You should do something about that wound or it’s going to get infected,” he said casually. He gestured to Zevran’s bleeding arm wound. If he’d learned nothing else over the years, it was how to hide his feelings about what was right in front of him.

“Ah, this little old thing…” Zevran replied.

Ariel turned around to look back at Zevran. “He’s right. ‘Ignore this and perhaps it might go away’ won’t fly with that shit. Let’s get you back. I’d offer to heal it, but I don’t know enough or have enough practice for that deep a wound yet.”

“Wait - what?” the ex-Crow stumbled over his words for once in confusion.

“My… magic has changed. We’ll talk about it later.” Ariel informed him quickly, brushing off the surprise.

“He won’t make it back like that,” Fenris said. He strolled over and grabbed Zevran’s scarf without asking. Before he could protest, he ripped some of the fabric off the garment.

“Hey! That is _expensive_ ,” he whined.

Fenris only rolled his eyes as he used the fabric to put pressure on the wound as he lifted Zevran’s arm in the air to ease the bleeding. “Do you not value your life more?”

“Well, I suppose I can make an exception for a handsome man like you,” Zevran cooed with a salacious grin. Fenris was surprised how it made him fluster but he ignored that in favour of scowling at him. He would tackle those strange feelings in his gut later.

Fenris could swear that he saw Ariel roll her eyes in his peripheral vision. At least she was calmed down enough to be annoyed like that.

“You’ll live just fine without a fancy scarf, Zev,” she noted with a sigh that confirmed her light irritation.

Once the bleeding had stopped, he tied the fabric tight around the wound. It wasn’t perfect but it would see Zevran through until they made it to the healers back at Skyhold. He moved away from Zevran to see Ariel looking at him.

“When did you…?” she started to ask.

“I had to learn many skills when I was a slave,” Fenris answered flatly.

It was a good enough answer. But he wanted nothing more than to get away from this situation now so he turned around and started heading back the way he came. Everyone here needed a good night’s rest before they discussed how anything was going to change in the coming days.

Ariel and Zevran exchanged a glance behind his back before they followed him. The three of them made it back to Skyhold safe and sound after skirting several domains and Ariel shooing away some more playful spirits. Ariel had promptly escorted Zevran to the healers after telling Fenris that she would talk to him tomorrow about everything that had transpired. She had some explaining to do, or so she said. Fenris was sure to assure her that she did not owe him a single thing. She just offered a smile that complimented her wide, happy eyes as she looked at him before leaving.

His heart pounded again as he watched her walk away. As he looked up at the dimming sky, he wondered if it was worth a trip to get himself a bottle of wine for the night.

Forgetting his feelings would be far easier than tackling them head on, after all.


End file.
